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Australian, Norwegian Charged With Terrorism
The Ministry of Public Security has charged three men with terrorism and claims they they confessed to being members of Viet Tan, a US-based pro-democracy group that Hanoi says is a terrorist organization. Two of the three are foreign citizens. Ho Pham Hiep Huy, also known as Tran Hiep, is an Australian citizen, and Nguyen Duc Thuan is Norwegian citizen. Viet Tan says the pair disappeared near Kaoh Andaet in Takeo province, which is a different tale than the one the police shared which had them trying to make an illegal entry at the Tay Ninh border. The Australian Prime Minister says his government is providing consular help and talking with the man’s family. No word from the Norwegian government.
Read more: AP (the charges), The Guardian (the disappearances), The Japan Times (the arrests), BBC (police account)
Samsung Adds $1.84 Billion to Thai Nguyen Plant
Samsung Electro-Mechanics is putting up about $1.84 billion to expand its Thai Nguyen plant that makes high-end circuit-board parts for AI servers and data centers. The new line is planned for opening by April 2028. Company president Chang Duck-hyun says demand from servers and data centers already takes up more than half of the plant’s production capacity, and the project is part of Samsung's massive bet on producing the most cutting edge components. Its Thai Nguyen unit brought in about $16.2 billion of revenue in the first half of 2026.
Read more: VnEconomy
Ring Sent $462M to China With Fake Contracts
Prosecutors say Tran The Manh used seven front companies to move more than VND12 trillion (~$462M), to China in the five years between 2018 and 2023, disguising each transfer as a payment for imports. Declared imports totaled VND900 billion (~$34.6M). Manh allegedly opened accounts at dozens of banks, then had staff reuse cleared customs papers and forge Chinese company seals to pull of his caper. Because each of the banks couldn’t see what any of the others had approved, the same paperwork kept working. Manh, now on trial with 11 others, apparently took a personal cut of 0.04% to 0.08% from each transfer.
Read more: VnEconomy
S&P Ups Growth to 8% as HCMC Nears FDI Target
S&P Global Ratings has raised its 2026 growth forecast to 8%, up 1.3%, after the economy reported a growth rate of 8.18% in the first half. Ho Chi Minh City has reported $17.2 billion in foreign investment YTD, which is already more than one and a half times its annual target; the total is likely to get close to $19 billion by year-end. Factories aren’t driving the increase this time, however. A $4.9 billion Can Gio transshipment port and a $2.1 billion AI data center make up a big part of the story as the city’s investment mix is making a shift toward ports, logistics and computing. S&P expects inflation to average 4.7% for the year.
Read more: Vietnam News (GDP breakdown), VnEconomy (FDI project)
Electronics Exports Run $42B China Deficit
Computer and electronics exports were about $101 billion through to the end of August, which is more than half again as much as the first full eight months of 2025, but the industry imported roughly $162 billion in components, which is up more than two-thirds. About $59 billion of the chips, panels and circuit boards came from China, and finished electronics sold there brought in $17.2 billion, leaving a $42 billion gap. If all trading partners are taken into account, the sector ran a deficit of about $61 billion. The Vietnam Electronic Industries Association is trying to get more parts made locally, but it’s not going to come easy.
Read more: VnEconomy
Samarium Plant to Bypass China
South Korea's LS Eco Energy is investing about $8.4 million, for a nearly three-fifths stake in a new subsidiary, Global Shre Metal. Trial production of samarium metal will start in December using material from Australia's Lynas, the only large rare-earth producer outside China. The metal will be used to supply an LS Cable & System plant that makes samarium-cobalt magnets for missiles and (fighter) planes. A planned annual output of 240 tons could support the manufacture of 700 to 1,000 tons of magnets. US Defense Department rules will block Chinese material from this supply chain starting in January, but China overall still handles about nine-tenths of global rare-earth processing.
Read more: BusinessKorea (the Lynas partnership), The Elec (expansion plans), Rare Earth Exchanges (US sourcing rules), TechNode Global (the investment)
Tax Department Says 200 MNCs Owe GMT
About 1,500 foreign-invested projects have cleared the €750M/ ~$830M, revenue bar for the global minimum tax. The Department of Taxation says 200 multinational corporations (MNCs) owe money under the 15% rate, which overrides the tax breaks that have traditionally been used to lure investors. That rate puts their combined 2025 bill at about $624 million. Officials say that it’s a take-back of incentives that were already granted. Foreign investment commitments was $40.63 billion in the first eight months of 2026 and disbursement was at a five-year high of $17.25 billion.
Read more: Vietnam Investment Review
China Canal Puts Can Tho Direct to Guangxi
The BBG Nan Ninh Bo Run has docked at Can Tho's Cai Cui Port, making it the first container ship to reach the Mekong Delta by way of China's new Pinglu Canal. It set sail from Nanning to the Gulf of Tonkin, then entered the Delta by the Hau River. The seven-day trip removes more than 560 kilometers from the old route that went by way of the Pearl River. Can Tho Port, Vietnam National Shipping Lines and China's Beibu Gulf Port Group are planning two sailings a month; each ship will carry up to 500 containers, about a quarter will be refrigerated boxes bringing Delta seafood and fruit to Guangxi. Port operators say the route could cut logistics costs by as much as almost a third.
Read more: Vietnam Briefing (canal cost), VnExpress (vessels)
Draft To Raise Minimum Wage, Ban Overtime Reductions
The National Wage Council has recommended an increase in the minimum wage and a draft decree from the Ministry of Home Affairs would raise the monthly figures in January 2027 by nearly 8% to VND5.7 million (~$220) in Region I and VND4.04 million (~$156) in Region IV. Employers would not be allowed to “claw back” the increase by reducing overtime pay, night-shift allowances or benefits in kind, a workaround that some of them used to reduce the impact of the ostensible cost of labor after previous legislated increases to the minimum wage. Companies would be required to update contracts and their pay rules. Hourly minimums would rise in step.
Read more: VnEconomy
Chevron, ExxonMobil Ink Deals with Petrovietnam
Chevron and ExxonMobil have signed separate framework agreements with Petrovietnam and its refining arm to open up new crude and gas supply channels. Chevron's deal covers possible cooperation on crude oil, liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and refinery feedstock. ExxonMobil Asia Pacific's agreement with refiner BSR is expected to allow them to secure at least 2 million barrels of crude yearly for the Dung Quat refinery. BSR has been trying to broaden its supply base; imports from West Africa, the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia were responsible for nearly a third of its crude last year.
Read more: TradingView (the supply agreements), Simply Wall St (the ExxonMobil deal)
VN-Index Slips in First Week After FTSE Upgrade
The VN-Index was down 1.68% in the week after its promotion to FTSE Russell's secondary emerging-market category, as foreign investors sold a net VND2.7 trillion. Turnover on HoSE dropped by nearly a fifth to VND12.34 trillion (~$475M). Brokers think the thin trading can be read as hesitation. FTSE is introducing 10% of the market's eventual weighting at first and phasing in the rest through 2027, so index funds today have flexibility to buy only a fraction of what their final allocations will be. It appears to be a classic case of buying the rumor and selling the news so far.
Read more: Vietnam Insiders ($2B inflow estimate), The Investor (Q3 earnings forecast)
Long Thanh Sets $25 International Fee
International flights out of Long Thanh will carry a $25 passenger service fee, which is five bucks more than Tan Son Nhat charges and the same as Hanoi's Noi Bai. Domestic passengers will pay VND90,909, about $3.50, with is the same at all three airports. Long Thanh is expected to open commercially on December 1. The Airports Corporation wants it to take every international route that’s over 1,000 kilometers in addition to charter flights and any new routes once Tan Son Nhat is full.
Read more: Vietnam News (passenger fees), VnExpress (capacity), Tuoitre (Ministry of Construction)
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